There's Nothing Good on TV!

Television used to be good, but now see how it changed and now sucks today.

For all of us who grew up in the 80's and 90's, we would always find something great to watch on TV. It's not like today. Many of the great shows we all loved are no longer on the air. All those stations we once loved to watch have now hit rock bottom. Now, I understand that this is to ammuse a new generation of kids. I know that kids today have a different sense of humor than we had when we were their age. I'm sure there were plenty of people in their late teens or early 20's who hated the shows we loved to watch back in the 90's. Anyway, enough of that; let's see the networks:

Let's start out with...

PBSPBS is that commercial-free station that has been known to show a lot of great educating shows. Most notably, "Sesame Street" was a big show. Back in the 70's and 80's, "Sesame Street" was a great way to keep kids educated. It taught kids about the alphabet, numbers, Spanish, opposites, and other great things to learn in life. There were also some great lovable muppets on that show: Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Cookie Monster, Snuffalupagus, the Count, Barkley, Mumferd the magician, Guy Smiley, and the Two-Headed Monster.Today, "Sesame Street" is still running, same time same network, but ever since Jim Henson's death in 1990, things have severely changed. The classic Bert and Ernie sketches as well as the Guy Smiley sketches were no longer in production and remained in reruns. Also, today, a lot of the muppets I mentioned above are lucky enough to even make a cameo. It was 1996, when the Tickle Me Elmo doll was introduced. This toy made Elmo an extremely popular character. Since the late 90's, Elmo has taken up like 80% of Sesame Street, especially since he gets his own show in the last 20 minutes of the show known as "Elmo's World". How much can one possibly learn about hats?Another thing that pisses me off is what they did to the Cookie Monster. When "Sesame Street" premeired, there would normally be a sketch in each episode where Kermit the Frog would do a lecture on a specific letter of the alphabet, and the Cookie Monster (who was originally unnamed) would eat off a piece of the letter changing it into another letter, and he'd keep doing it. Eventually, he became a character who would gobble down cookies once they're in front of him. One thing I liked about him was that he was the only living thing I know who would stuff his face with cookies while at the same time say "Om nom nom nom nom!" As of 2005, he's been known as the Veggie Monster. Yes, he switched to eating fruits and vegetables because the creators of "Sesame Street" thought that Cookie Monster's habits would be a bad influence on children and might give them health problems. He still eats cookies, but he eats fruits and veggies too so he can have a balanced diet. Still, I don't like the name Veggie Monster; it just doesn't sound right.Another show that I miss on PBS is "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood". This was another great educational show staring Fred Rogers that often played alongside "Sesame Street". It got cancelled sometime in the 90's, and I remember when Mr. Rogers died in 2003, we were all really sad.

Speaking of sad, let's move on to another network...

NickelodeonNickelodeon is probably the prime example on what I'm talking about. For starters, Nickelodeon was the first kid's network, which was launched in 1979. Most old-school Nick fans liked it better in the 80's, but since I haven't seen what it was like in the 80's, I wouldn't know. In the 90's, the network started going commercial with the Nicktoons. There used to be a lot of great Nicktoons like "Doug", "Ren & Stimpy", "Aaahh! Real Monsters", "Kablam!", "The Angry Beavers"', "CatDog" and even the first couple seasons of "Rugrats". Today, a majority of those are all cancelled. Also, what happened to all the great game shows? Whatever happened to "Nick Arcade", "Guts", "Figure It Out", and most importantly, "Legends of the Hidden Temple"? Moreoever, why did they have to cancel "All That"?Today, this kid's network seems to be showing nothing but "Spongebob Squarepants" and "The Fairly Oddparents". Now, I know that a lot of people like those shows, and to be fair, they're not the worst cartoons ever made, but they don't really have to be showing four or five episodes a day. Imagine if "Sesame Street" was the only thing that PBS played every single day; it would get really annoying. What's even worse are the live action shows we've got now. They're nothing like the live action Nick shows I gew up watching like "Salute Your Shorts" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

Nick Jr.Nick Jr. is a block that plays on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9AM to 2PM for little kids to watch. Back in the 90's, it contained some shows that were just as great as "Sesame Street" was like "Eureka's Castle" and "The World of David the Gnome". Back then, those shows cared more about education rather than merchandising. Later on, things started to change.In 1997, "Blue's Clues" was introduced. This show was pretty good on educating kids, but it started the merchandising line. This show used to give my brother nightmares. Steven Burns...well, he's cool as a musician, but he's not cool as an actor. However, this show is nothing compared to today.Now, we've got this show called "Dora the Explorer". This show makes "Blues Clues" look like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"! This is just what we need to educate our kids, a girl who teaches kids how to speak Spanish and make them scream at the top of their lungs. Every episode is so dragged out and tedious, especially when Dora wastes her time talking to the viewers and waiting for their response. I'm surprised they even manage to fit all that into a half-hour!

Now let's talk about...

Cartoon NetworkWhen Cartoon Network was first launched in 1992, it was made to be a station for classic cartoons. I'm talking specifically about the Hanna-Barbara cartoons like "Yogi Bear", "Quick Draw McGraw", "The Flintstones", and "The Smurfs". This network even introduced me to some obscure cartoons like "The Amazing Chan" and "Roger Ramjet". What a great network. What was even better was the network's original series'. "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" and "2 Stupid Dogs" were awesome cartoons.For me, personally, I think that CN's glory days were the late 90's and early 2000's when they showed the Cartoon Cartoons. All these goodies were really entertaining to watch. "Dexter's Lab", "Cow & Chicken", "The Powerpuff Girls", "Ed, Edd n Eddy", "Courage the Cowardly Dog", "Sheep in the Big City", "Codename: Kids Next Door", those were all the best toons to define the word "entertainment". They also had "Toonami", which was a block of great Japanese cartoons like "Dragon Ball Z", "Outlaw Star", "Thundercats", and even "Hamtaro". I'm such a sucker for Japanese cartoons.It's not like today. Cartoon Network no longer cares about classic cartoons or even the Cartoon Cartoons! Now, we've got nothing but crappy shows like "Camp Lazlo" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" while the other shows we all loved are out in the dust. The only Cartoon Cartoon remaining on the network is "Ed, Edd n Eddy", and the only classic cartoon playing on the network is "Scooby-Doo", which they've been playing way too much of from the beginning. Also, they got rid of Toonami entirely! Cartoon Network has definately hit rock bottom!There is one exception, though. They still have "Adult Swim". "Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken" are still fun shows to watch, but that's really the only thing on CN worth watching!

Last, but not least, I want to talk about...

Toon DisneyYou all remember all the awesome cartoons that Disney made in the 80's and 90's, right? Well, this station was launched in 1998 to bring back all those good shows. Back in the early 2000's, Toon Disney was a perfect station. It showed all the great Disney Afternoon shows that I loved like "Duck Tales", "Darkwing Duck", "Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers", "Timon & Pumbaa", and my personal favorite, "101 Dalmatians". There were even some non-Disney-related cartoons that used to air on Disney-related stations like "Care Bears" and "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog". Toon Disney was just a great station that always made me smile. Today, a lot of those great shows are lucky enough to even see the light of the day!In 2004, Toon Disney introduced this little thing called JETIX! This block showed all these action shows that are not even remotely related to Disney! Why would anyone want to watch these shows? "Power Rangers"? "Digimon"? What are they doing on Toon Disney? Since then, Toon Disney has been showing more and more and MORE JETIX CRAP! JETIX has taken up like more than 65% of Toon Disney! What's going on here? Why are they no longer showing the Disney Afternoon shows? Wasn't that the whole point of having Toon Disney? What were they thinking??? There have been numerous complaints and petitions going on trying to get JETIX taken off the air, but those folks at Toon Disney just don't seem to be listening. What a selfish network! I can't even bare to look at Toon Disney anymore because of this! Pretty soon, Toon Disney will be gone altogether and be replaced with a network that shows JETIX shows 24 hours a day!

Phew! Well, I guess I'd better stop now before I lose my mind. That's all I gotta say about my thoughts on how television sucks these days. Some of you may agree with me, and some of you may disagree with me, but that's just my point of view. I know that I can't change anything about it, but at least I'm getting my agressions out. I look forward to reading your responses.

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As of February 13th, 2009. Toon Disney became Disney XD. I miss Disney's Raw Toonage (Where they introduced Marsupilami). I remember that rumor on Cookie Monster becoming Veggie Monster. There was an early 90's sketch where he had a nightmare on meeting "The Monster Cookie." He used to be a blue furry monster too. But eating a lot cookies through his life made him become on. He sadly regrets that he never had any healthier food. Poor Monster Cookie And Cookie Monster woke up from his dream so sadly and vows to never eat cookies again. And started to eats carrots fish and whole wheat bread, and then eats a cookie and remark "Well Maybe sometime a Cookie." Here is a screenshot from the sketch:

This is just another unfounded and opinion-based article that essentially bitches and moans about how they can no longer see shows that they liked when they were younger. Don't you realise that today's kids shows are for children? They make shows for certain demographics, and you're certainly not one of their targets. And Cartoon Network has some pretty groundbreaking stuff. "The Secret Saturdays" comes to mind among others. It combines the appeal of timeless '60s and '70s superhero cartoons with a penchant for "Indiana Jones"-style heroics.And it should be noted that today's generation are harder to please than we were as children. There is an online component to their lives that we just didn't have; as I stated in a comment on another article, it would be easier and faster to get online and watch videos and play games than it would be to walk over to the TV, turn it on and flip through the channels until something entertaining can be found.

Then he should of expanded the article to prime time shows as well. Reality TV, news shows, court shows and today's sitcoms and dramas all suck ass. Bring back the good shit and kill the fucking FCC. Cable networks are too fucking repetitive when it comes to scheduling. 4 hours of Spongebob, Family Guy and all that stuff. I'll pass.

The mid/late 90s is when TV started declining in my opinion. Sure there was good shows like Mr. Show and Beavis and Butthead, but you had garbage like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond and all those shitty ass shows.

Kids TV went to shit after the early 90s. The Cartoon Cartoons sucked. The post-1993 Nicktoons sucked and anything Disney put out after Darkwing Duck sucked (minus Gargoyles, never liked Goof Troop or Bonkers).

"Goosebumps" is actually a 90's show based on the R.L. Stine books of the same name.

Onto a certain Street...Elmo was created in the 80's and back when, he was far less of a commercial attention-grabber than he is now. I blame parents for not taking the time to educate their children, which forces public television, extra-curricular activities, and school in general to watch the kids for said parents. This is why--once Tickle Me Elmo hit it big--Elmo's become the symbol of the modern "Sesame Street", which resulted in people lashing out at him and his performer, Kevin Clash, when it is not the fault of either Elmo or Kevin that the little red menace has become Sesame Workshop's corporate cash cow in order to keep sales up against competition and whatnot.

As for the rest of the article--bar the rumor of Cookie Monster becoming the Veggie Monster--I agree whole-heartedly. Why bother creating classic show channels--Toon Disney and TVLand, for instance--or creating things like Cartoon Network just to show mindless modern-day drivel (ex: the soon-to-be-replaced Toon Disney airing JETIX stuff,TVLand airing RECENTLY canned crappy sitcoms, CARTOON Network airing ANYTHING live-action, etc.) when that defeats the purpose of the stations aforementioned?

yes I totally agree very good article indeed. CN, Toon Disney and Nickelodeon have all hit rock bottom. The only good news I have for you is that, although it's not on TV anymore, I have found that a lot of the shows I grew up on are coming out on DVD. That way, I can watch those DVD's whenever I want to, and not all the crap that they're showing the kids these days.For instance, I just found out that Freakazoid is coming out on DVD July 29th I believe. They are also bringing out a DVD box set of Tiny Toons. These two I am anxiously waiting for!!!

Nick: Yes, "Nick Arcade", "Global Guts","All that"(Which still plays!)"Legends of the Hidden Temple" I remember these well.oh and another thing, I miss watching the kids get slimed!Oh I remember Salute your shorts! That would make me laugh!!! My sister and I use to watch that one together. And Are you Afraid of the Dark would always scare the crap out of me, but I couldn't help but watch it anyway.

Toon Disney:

You know that Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers is still on correct? Here it comes on around noon. They also brought back Tale Spin and stuff like that. Yes they took off 101 dalmations, and Dark Wing as far as I know. But once again most of these have come to DVD.

In the end, I've started collecting DVD's of my favorite 90's cartoon series and just dealt with the situation like that. It is a shame that there are such stupid TV shows out there now-a-days.

Hey Power Rangers are cool, although it does look really cheesy now that i am almost 15, and the new episodes really suck and they are always making you learn lessons, like be good to your community or don't litter, pure crap. Jetix does suck but one thing you didn't mention is that it has some old cartoons like gargoyles, batman, superman, pinky and the brain , some old power ranger episodes, kong and the tick.

Yes..very good article, and I totally agree with what your saying. The problem is, a lot of us are constantly watching tv looking for something to watch, but there is nothing but crap on. Instead of watching tv hopelessly looking for something good (ultimately wasting time), do something constructive. Ever since 2004/2005, I have started reading heavily, drawing, painting, hanging out, just doing constructive things, and only watch tv at night some of the time. Its not worth wasting your time anymore guys. Just take this as an opportunity to do other things. You can always get the DVD's of the shows you loved back-in-the day, hell I do.

Jetix isn't too bad these days. Spiderman, Batman, Superman...some pretty decent shows. Boomerang has The Batman (very much an underrated show), Justice League, Dexter's Lab. Those shows dominate my DVR. In fact, the only thing I watch live is sports. Everything else is recorded a week ahead of time. These articles about how bad TV is today don't really make sense to those of us who record our TV. Without it, I can see how much it might suck. But then again, when I didn't have it, I'd complain about it (however, that was only because I watched TV at around midnight due to work). Think about this for a second: what if we (the 20/30 somethings of today) had DVR's back in our childhood. Talk about awesome shows getting recorded, I would never have missed an episode of X-Men, Spiderman, Dexter's Lab, Toonami (only the good shows), Ducktales, Darkwing Duck...I'm getting goosebumps from the very thought of it.

If you ask me i think nick has died. there's no good shows, they closed nick studios in Orlando (no live action show to film). jimmy Neutron is played like 5 times a day and isn't in production anymore.

I loved "Eureeka's castle on Nick! I still have the hand puppets from Pizza Hut when they were selling them! Nick Jr also used to show Grimm's Fairy tales, Noozles, and The Elephant Show. I miss Old School Nick and Old School Nick Jr. It just be so neat if once and for all Nick made a chanel for old school nick from the early nineties and I don't just mean the cartoons I mean everything! They must know there are a lot of requests for it, so hopefully one day it will happen!!

My and my two brothers grew up just on regular tv no cable.. And i always remeber there being cartoons on every day after school.. now nothing.. seriously if i got a day off work, cant even enjoy any toons..

I agree and disagree with this article. I gave it a thumbs up because it's well written but not all cartoons suck now. Futurama, South Park and Family Guy are 3 of the very few cartoons of today. I liked Foster's and Ben 10 only because my kid likes them but they got tiring after a while.

PBS: I think the downfall of Sesame Street was in 2002 when the show's format was changed. There is indeed though, too much Elmo. The 2006 season introduced the new muppet Abby Cadabby and she was only in 3 episodes of that season. Yes this "Alliance For a Healthier Generation" and "Healthy Habits For Life" are basically ruining childrens TV as we know it. Just look what they did to poor Cookie Monster! Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was cancelled in 2001 because he wanted to retire. He died in 2003 of stomach cancer.

Cartoon Network I like: The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Camp Lazlo, and Squirrel Boy. I don't like: My Gym Partner Is A Monkey or those new shows "Out of Jimmy's Head and "Goosebumps" Out of Jimmy's Head at least has cartoon charecters. Goosebumps is ENTIRELY LIVE ACTION! THAT DEFEATS THE NETWORK'S NAME! Adult Swin is ALL CRAP! There are kids that watch cartoons late at night and when they turn on "Cartoon Network" they are exposed to sex, violence, and cussing. Family Guy to me is only an OK show because of the sex and jokes on God/Religion.

Nickelodeon: I love SpongeBob and The Fairly Oddparents. They are two of my favorite shows on the channel. Dora The Explorer is no longer good because it puts all the emphasis on Diego. Blue's Clues has that stupid "Blue's Room" segment where Blue can talk?! That defates the whole show's concept where Blue would play Blue's Clues to communicate.

It's true that they show too many reruns of Spongebob & Fairly Oddparents on Nick these days. I too miss all of the game shows, but they put Legends of the Hidden Temple back on the air from May to June this year. They are still showing reruns of Mister Rogers on PBS. It's also true that they show Elmo a lot these days on Sesame Street because every time I turn on the tv to that channel, it's usually on Elmo's world.

My take on this personally is that television isn't the same as it was in the 80s/90s. I remember when TGIF on Friday Nights and Saturday Mornings were days you could mark on your calendar, because those were the times where you could just relax and pop in to watch your favorite TV show/cartoon. Not anymore. I think the good times of TV died off in the 2000s.

We're infested with so many problems today that it's not even funny. Global Warming? Political Incorrectness? Third Party Issues? It's no wonder I watch TV anymore. Like many, I watch it for entertainment purposes only. Reality TV is just to waste your time when you feel you don't have much to accomplish in life. The cartoons are nothing short of pathetic. Not only do they lack creativity and art, but they also lack the moral values and the entertainment that so many shows from the 80s/90s gave us.

It feels like I've been raped of all the childhood shows I grew up with and been replaced with mindless garbage to appeal to the new generation with shortened attention spans. I don't even watch current television, it's all about the repeats and the DVD sets. All corporate executives care about these days is money, and that's basically it. They would rather see a show that would make them millionaires that lacks creativity (while having a toy line), than a show that is bursting with potential but doesn't have the money to keep it going. It's sad but true, these guys suck.

It's quite surprising just how much things have changed for the worse. Television is only a part of the entire decline.

There are great shows today if you would open your mind and look beyond the past.

Nickelodeon has Avatar the Last Airbender. That show is great and actually have a plot unlike the other shows on the network. Great animation, great voice acting, you shall check that out.

There isn't too much I care for on the Disney Channel but Kim Possible is a great series, so is American Dragon. The rest of the shows I can do without. I don't have Toon Disney, so I can't express my opinion on the channel.

CN has great shows today like Ben 10, Megas XLR and Storm Hawks. Samurai Jack and Justice League are also great. CN does have bad shows, but then again, every channel has that. Their Adult Swim line up for the most part is great. I don't care for Family Guy, but Robot Chicken have me howling with laughter.

Prime time TV however is infested with Reality shows, but if you look past that, there are great shows like Heroes and 24. Some of the prime time shows of today like Smith and the Black Donnellys are cancelled but there is still some good stuff on. HBO and Showtime have excellent original series you shall check out.

You see, TV didn't die after the 90s, it's still progressing today. There are great shows out there, you'll just have to find them. Wow, what a rant.

I watched PBS in the 70s. Sesame Street was awesome back then and now, I don't care for it. I agree, their childrens shows went down the drain since Barney, the threaded purple bastard. The rest of the programming is okay.

I disagree with you for the rest of the article. Nickelodeon was never good, didn't get it until late 1991/early 1992. The shows were always mindless and crappy. The cartoons were horrible, crap animation, stupid jokes, boogers, flatuence and nothing but shallow stuff. Disney's TV cartoons were never good, I prefer their pre-70s stuff. Cartoon Network was good in the very beginning when they was showing the ACTUAL classic cartoons like Bugs Bunny, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear and stuff like that. All of their original cartoons are mindless crap. Boomerang is starting to play more of those damned 90s/early 00s and it's way to early to be playing any of that shit. They barely play any 70s/80s cartoons. Never had the Disney Channel until 2001. It really sucks, nothing to do with Disney, just mindless tween garbage. I'm sorry but am I the only one who thinks cartoons from the 90s suck? I mean, they aren't really too different from the trash on now.

I don't miss those channels at all. They were always bad. I miss the days of 70s and 80s and Saturday Morning cartoons, waking up early with that bowl of cereal and hours of great cartoons and shows.

I agree with basically everything you just said, but here are the two that I don't agree with:

One: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is actually a good show! I was suprised to find how good it was after seeing all the other cruddy shows Cartoon Network has to offer these days (I'm looking at you, Squirrel Boy). Maybe if you give it a chance, you'll like it. Maybe if it were just happened to fall in the 90s, you'd be talking about it just like you are with Ducktales and friends.

Two: Adult Swim is not good under any circumstance. It's basically a black mark on Cartoon Network in my eyes. If you really want to be entertained with pervert humor, go to the adult store or something. Stay off a network that's way better suited for kids.

Besides, do you not think kids still tune in on CN at night sometimes? Only to find sex, swearing, and perversion?

Cartoon Network lost it's fun and eventually died in my eyes when they started airing perverted shows like Family Guy.

I agree, many shows are, what I think, because of the New Age, do not have the feel of the cartoons from 1928 to 1999. I do not what Nickelodeon or Cartoon network as much as I did in the 1990s and 2000-2002 because of what dalmatianlover stated in his list. I also agree with the othe comments, we have eventually have to move on to the present and future

Fangarius, I appreciate those kinds words. And for those of you who are telling me to shut the hell up and move on with my life, I clearly have other things that I do with my life. This article of mine shows precisely why I don't watch TV anymore and spend my life doing other things.

not all tv sucks there is still simpsons, family guy and south park so get over it! just beacause some of the older shows are gone doesn't meen tv sucks (I will admit though i do miss ren & stimpy and sonic.)

Actually as for Cookie Monster, I remember Ad Council once commissioned Sesame Street and Jim Henson to do an early ad where Cookie Monster's at a restaurant and he's being interviewed where he explains he eats other things besides cookies. You know to help support the whole 'balanced diet' thing, but the hilarious part is what was going on in the background and Cookie Monster ordering a whistle for dessert. Hence he blew on it and a construction rig dumps a truckload of cookies on him, with him yelling "COOKIES!"

Actually, I don't mind Foster's because ironically the style reminds me of the cartoonist who did the movie "Twice Upon a Time" and the "Thelma Thumb" shorts on Sesame Street.

Personally, he's not really grousing, but making an observant point about how things have degraded to where it's become more of what sells rather than the quality of it.

But you have to admit something, RitM, the old adage is true, when you have too much of a good thing, no one really appreciates it. The real reason we miss Saturday Mornings is because the rarity of the programs back then, with no VCRs, DVD-Rs or TVRs, you actually had to get up and watch them. Which was what made them special, nowadays we no longer care about holiday specials, Saturday Mornings and such because if we miss it, we can catch it on a DVD collection, rerun, or from our recording devices.

And there's nothing wrong with waxing nostalgic, heck, I suspect you do it, too, at some point. Though we do 'get over it,' it's kind of hard to, when the next generation won't have as fond memories as we did for animation and television. Yes, things do change on a constant, but it doesn't mean we have to readily accept it like mindless drones either.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I presumed the point of "RetroJunk" was to fondly recall the Past and if things aren't so great now, dalmationlover has a genuine right to express his opinion. And at least he didn't just come out and scream "[Insert item] SUX!!" Like most of the gripefest forums I've been to, where they complain like children but don't supply a strong support behind their reasoning.

Personally, I feel this generation has been cheated, though there are a few gems [Ben 10, Courage the Cowardly Dog], with animation and television in general.

Oh boy... Yet again another repetitive bitch fest about how supposedly everything today is nothing but crap. Shows get canceled all the time, okay! And things always change over time, rather it's for better or worse! So for the majority of people on this website that make the, same, crappy, bitch fest articles: Get over it already and get on with your lives already!

A couple things I forgot to point out is the fact that Cartoon Network used to have few commercial breaks during its "glory days", but now they have extended commercial breaks.

I agree that I also should have talked about the Disney Channel. Not everything on that network is bad, but I hate the fact that it's no longer a commercial free station, and it's commercial breaks are as long as Cartoon Network's are!

As for VH-1 and MTV, I don't see anything wrong with them. I find a lot of the shows like "Behind the Music" and "I Love the 80's" rather interesting. I do agree that they should be showing at least SOME music videos, however.

Good lord, will you all just shut up? Of course the channels aren't as good as they used to be, you're all out of the demographic! Watch shows that appeal towards your ages! God!<br /><br />Done ranting.

When I think Nickelodeon I think of the classics like Pinwheel (yup I took it there) and You Can't Do That On Television. Remember that? Anytime anybody on that show would say "I don't know" slime would just drop from the sky on their heads. I could go on and on about that show alone, but there were other classics like the game shows Wild N Crazy Kids and Double Dare. CLASSIC Nickelodeon. I even got sucked into watching Hey Dude (don't ask).

As far as Space Ghost Coast To Coast, I remember just plain ol' Space Ghost (The Space Stars) back in the early early 80's. I liked Space Ghost but he was always a knockoff hero. A bootleg hero who wasn't good enough to be a DC or Marvel character. I even remember the Blue Falcon. Hell, I liked him better than Space Ghost.

NICE POST!, i really enjoyed this article, i agree with you 100% you just explained what ive tried explaining to my little sisters who love spongebob and fairy oddparents!! This is by far my favorite post since i joined this website..keep up the good work. maybe one day we can talk on aim. later!.

I agree with this article. I almost had a heart attack when I heard about how they changed Cookie Monster. Cookie Monster eating fruits is just blasphemy. I feel sorry for kids today. Back in the 80s and 90s we had tough decisions on what show to watch because there were so many good ones on at the same time (thank goodness for VCRs).

I really enjoyed that, Dal. Christ... when Elmo took over. That pissed me off to no end. And now apparently the Cookie Monster is some kind of born again health food nut? That's not right! That's not right at all! The world is padding it's edges for the kids nowadays and coddling them! Yeesh. It's probably because parents have no time to raise the kids, so they just let TV do it.

I hope we meet up in the old folk's home some day. It'll be good to bitch about how "back in our day our parents taught us that stuffing ourselves with cookies and the plate they came on wasn't such a good idea!"

I was thinking that as well, Fangarius. I think part of the problem with Nick shows now started with Ren & Stimpy, not because it was a bad show but because Nick couldn't handle their type of humor, which is why they fired John K., had constant debates with the creators, used Games Animation to tone down the grossness somewhat and Ren's abuse towards Stimpy to make them more like friends, and ultimately cancelled them. So now Nicktoons like Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents and Jimmy Neutron seem so childish because of Nick having more control over them. It's also why Invader ZIM was cancelled way before it's time, as Nick got complaints about it being too scary, but unlike Ren & Stimpy they were a little more supportive of it.

I read an article about Cookie Monster's cutting down on the cookies. In an effort to focus on health, Cookie Monster is being used to teach kids about "anytime foods" and "sometimes foods". Cookies fall into the latter category. However, Sesame Street made it clear to the reporter writing the piece that Cookie monster will still eat cookies and the ocassional object.

As for the article, inaccurate in places--research a bit more before you write--but passionate to be sure. You're so right, DL. TV has gone in the crapper. Thanks for the read.

Actually, to help you out on Nickelodeon. Originally launched in 1979, it had literally shared the channel with Arts & Entertainment (now A&E) and was first ran by the NEA.

In the beginning, the mainstay of Nickelodeon's morning program were two main shows: Today's Special, and Pinwheel--which was kind of a 4-hour Sesame Street knockoff. In the afternoons, the programming shifted to the older set, first with a science show called, "What Will They Think Of Next," then with the classic "You Can't Do That On Television."

Then of course, came shows like "The Third Eye," and the original "Tomorrow People." Afterwards the programming would conclude and A&E would take over for prime time and the night.

What made Nickelodeon cool back in the early 80s was the weekend with Special Delivery. Sort of their answer to the now-lamented CBS Children's Film Festival, Special Delivery would show films and animation from around the world. The weekend also had other informative shows like Going Great, and Lights, Camera, Action.

So what happened in the 90s? Well, subtly, Nickelodeon discovered their audience liked animated series, so they came up with shows like Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and later Ren & Stimpy. But what did them in was Viacom (aka MTV Networks) subtly taking over the network after debut a show called Nick Rocks.

Though the NEA was about to shelve the network, Viacom did show educational toons in the morning like Maya the Bee, and Noozles, subtly chopping down Pinwheel to a normal thirty-minute show, and adding new children's programming like Eureeka's Castle.

Regrettably, Nickelodeon subtly started devolving when they started merchandising the crap out of their Nicktoons. Rugrats was okay, but I felt they ruined it with All Grown Up, as well as putting Baby Dil into the mix. And I felt the real fall of Nickelodeon was when they literally 'stole' Ren & Stimpy from John K. because some woman got ticked off with one innovative episode, as well as 'creative' differences.

Because afterwards, Nicktoons kept cranking out R&S knockoffs which just didn't work. And the truth is, Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents and Jimmy Neutron need to be put out to pasture. The problem is, the network needs to let the creators make the toons the way they want to and not use them as a merchandising gimmick. Didn't really work in the 80s, definitely not working now.

Why do you think the few good shows Nickelodeon had (Rocko's Modern Life, Invader Zim & My Life as a Teenage Robot) got cancelled? Not due to lack of ratings but the fact the creators didn't want their vision transformed into cash cows to amuse the network execs.

And I do agree with Arcadia Dreamer, one problem today is we not only have too many channel choices, but the fact because Toons are now shown daily, as opposed to weekly, writers and animators no longer seem to care if their shows have fun and substance to them. Just throw up a bunch of random garbage and hope the masses enjoy it.

Yes, I definitely do miss Saturday Mornings because back then animators really worked hard on some of the shows. Although there were some stinkers out there, you didn't mind so much because they weren't CONSTANTLY being aired 24/7, nor being merchandised to the hilt.

Anyway, great article, Dalmationlover. Hopefully when I can figure out how to alter my profile, I can put up a better avatar.

BTW, the teens probably did enjoy the original stuff we watched, I can only stand to watch Arthur, Robot Chicken, and Family Guy, and even Futurama. Back then I could not turn off the TV. Nowadays it's crap.

Great article, dalmationlover, with some very astute points and opinions. I agree that today's cartoon shows and other children's programming is pure crap, and the horrid junk being foisted onto contemporary kids is little more than a cheap barrage of toy marketing shoved down their parents' throats.

I'm about to turn 37 next month, but I find myself frequently looking back with fondness at all the shows I watched as a kid in the '70s and early-to-mid '80s. These were classic shows that, even though there was probably some product marketing with them too it wasn't nearly as much as there are with today's crappy shows.

What's also missing from today's kids is the excitement of waking up on Saturday mornings, fixing a big bowl of sugary cereal, and plopping down in front of the TV to watch the greatest cartoons on the three networks that existed at that time. We didn't have all the cable channels there are now. There are almost, dare I say it, TOO many channel choices now. But boy, did I love Saturday mornings back then! Would that we could turn back the clock!

Television is mostly a festering pile of shit. The only things I can stand to watch anymore are Food Network and some shows on TLC.

Also, I confess-- I sometimes watch those glorified talent shows like America's Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance, but they really get on my nerves after a while. Everything else that's on TV makes me physically sick.

Once I'm in my own apartment again, instead of spending 60 bucks a month for cable or satellite TV, I'm just gonna buy DVDs. You can get quite a few DVDs for 60 bucks if you know where to look. Also, then I have the shows at home to watch whenever the hell I feel like it, as many times as I want, with no commercials or shameless self-promotion.

"In 2006, in response to growing concerns about record levels of childhood obesity in the U.S.A., Sesame Street began airing segments entitled Healthy Habits for Life. In these segments, the Muppet characters of Sesame Street talk about healthy habits, such as eating right and exercise. The Healthy Habits for Life segments caused false Internet rumors that Cookie Monster's name had been changed to Veggie Monster."

Growing up with Nickelodeon and PBS was definitely an awesome time in the mid 80s. Into the nineties I loved Nickelodeon and watched Ren and Stimpy, Doug, and Rocko's Modern Life. My best memories from my childhood are staying home (due to being very sick of course) to watch David the Gnome and Pin Wheel all day with a lot of NES games in between. Cartoon Network was the best when it first started (when I had to pay $1.99 out of my allowance to get the channel :)). I have since created my own classic cartoon network with DVD sets. Also I loved HB0, TNT, USA, etc. during late nights for classic sci-fi b-movies. Luckily I have tons of DVDs to recreate the movie nights I enjoyed as a kid in the 80s. Just watched "Chopping Mall" the other night. Okay I'm done rambling.

What do you mean, "and even the first couple seasons of "Rugrats."" Umm... yeah... they were AMAZING! Best nicktoon, by far. Anyhoo, why does everyone hate Foster's so much? It's not bad. I do agree, though. It doesn't seem like shows are as good. Especially the new live action ones. Everything on Disney is so disgusting right now.

Im surprised you didnt mention the downfall of MTV or VH1. In the 80s, both music channels dedicated their airtime pertaining to what they were. 24/hour music video stations. Then in the 90s, they started adding shows to keep a balance (good ones at least). But in this decade, its nothing but shitty reality shows! They dont even play music videos anymore more. Anyway, I do agree with everything you mentioned in this article.

I totally agree with everything you said. I can't stand Elmo's World on PBS. All he does is talk to babies and Mr. Noodle, who is a complete nut head, very unentertaining. Sesame Street was my personal fav. as a child. I can't believe they changed the cookie monster to "veggie monster", it's so stupid. It doesn't sound right, and the cookie monster is famous! He's known throughout the world! They chouldn't have changed his name! As for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, they have sucked these last few years. All I see on Nick is Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents, and Drake and Josh. Spongebob is gay, and Drak and Josh is considerably boring to me. Fairly Odd Parents is barable, but it gets old. Cartoon Network is easier to watch with 'Ed, Edd, and Eddy', 'Scooby Doo', and 'The Adventures of Billy and Mady', bbut the others just suck. I REALLY miss a lot of shows from the 90's. Toon Disney was awesome btw. I loved all the shows! As for JETIX, yeah, it's REALLY got to go.

Awesome article, I wholeheartedly agree. What's up with Disney and Nick nowadays, anyway? And WTF to the Veggie Monster? That's just bullsh*t.

One innacuracy that has not yet been pointed out: Cartoon Network actually has two remaining Cartoon Cartoons. "Ed, Edd, n Eddy" is one of them, and the other is "Codename: Kids Next Door". The third remaining Cartoon Cartoon, "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" (formerly Grim & Evil) just recently got the can (remember the Cartoon Cartoon Big Pick in 2001 where 11 cartoons were voted on to be the next Cartoon Cartoon? Billy and Mandy was the winner). Everything made after Billy and Mandy (Camp Lazlo, Foster's, Class of 3000, etc.) is not considered a Cartoon Cartoon.

I agree with the whole article dalmationlover. Most of the shows today really suck and I really miss the shows I grew up in the 90's, especially "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog." I also agree with RetroGAL, it has always been the Cookie Monster and it should stay that way!

I think that Toon Disney should take JETIX out too! but they should put it in a seperate chasnnel like they did in all the international FOX KIDS(they where 24hour channel). then they can come back all of them. I do wach some Jetix but its bothering me by putting it more time EVEN IN THE MORNING! also you forgot about DISNEY CHANNEL.

Excellent article Dalmatian! I agree with your article whole heartedly. You forgot to mention channels like ABC, ABC Family, USA, The Disney Channel and most importantly Noggin. Noggin used to have excellent educational shows for children as well as nostalgic classics,like classic Sesame Street and Electric Company. Now, its nothing more than teen drama central with reruns of teen crap such as Dawson's Creek and My So Called Life.

While I like some of the program on Jetix, this show really needs its own station instead of crowding out Disney cartoons. I would rather be watching some of the Disney Toons at a better time period than late at night, and early in the morning.

I would rather not have to shovel out large amounts of money to buy DVD boxed sets, because they are very costly. With as much money as we pay for cable these days, we deserve so much better quality programming.

They should be listening and caring about what customers and viewers want, instead of just pocketing our money.

How would buying boxed sets even send out a message to these big wigs that were tired of this crap? It would be better to write, call or email them.

I'll tell ya, if I had a dime for every time that I said these same things...well, I'd have one heck of a lot of money! The good ol' days were sure back when you could wake up Saturday morning and watch cartoons from 6am to 1pm. I miss both all the great cartoons there used to be as well as all the great regular TV that was on in the 80's and 90's. It's gotten so bad that I don't even have cable anymore. Just an antenna to get the major networks. The ironic thing is, I'm a producer for a television station! Ha! While I don't work on cartoons or sitcoms, I'm always trying to put together shows that I'd watch if I were flipped throw the channels. But at least we have some of these great 80's/90's shows on DVD and hi-def discs now. Even though it's a pain to have to buy them and not just pick them up on the tube, at least there's some option. I completely agree that most all of the networks are much too concerned with the all-mighty dollar and self-promoting themselves. It's enough to make you go mad! If you complain you feel like a single voice among millions too. Rough world, but things aren't that bad. Take stock in the fact that most of the good ol' shows are available in so form or another somewhere today. If you're really at a loss, search for some of these on YouTube. I've found a bunch of entire episodes of great old stuff on there. Great article by the way!

You forgot MTV, that has gone way downhill. No music videos. All reality TV and drama shows. And FOX is mostly a reality TV fest. I must of stopped watching all of these cartoon and kid TV stations earlier than you.

I never watched Toon Disney. I stopped watching Cartoon Network when they moved all of the classic cartoons to Boomerang, I stopped watching Nickelodeon in 1991, couldn't get into the original shows, sorry.

I agree with a lot of that. Although I actually like Spongebob and Fairly Oddparents, Nickelodeon is defiently all Spongebob now when you watch it and no longer have the good variety of programs it used to, especially with game shows.

Foster's and Camp Lazlo are defiently weak compared to The Powerpuff Girls and Rocko's Modern Life but when creators make second shows they're not always as good as their first show anyway. The lack of older Cartoon Cartoons and classic cartoons is a big letdown from Cartoon Network though.

And Toon Disney is the worst in my opinion. Like everyone else, I don't see the point of having Jetix in the first place. At least CN and Nick have channels like Boomerang, Nick GAS and Nicktoons Network to find old shows, but where else are we supposed to find DuckTales, Darkwing Duck and Bonkers if they don't even show them anymore? I loved those shows as a kid, so it's just sad that all this anime stuff takes up most of the channel now. They need to start putting the "Disney" back in Toon Disney again!

Toon Disney was my 2nd favorite channel. All of the shows were GOLD. And they were actually DISNEY CARTOONS! I have no clue why the !&*@$ Jetix went from ABC Family to Toon Disney. It's not even Toon Disney anymore; they might as well rename it The Jetix Channel and get it over with.

As for Toonami...that got gay after they changed Tom and added Naruto and Bobobo-BoBoBoBo.And fuck Cookie Monster eating veggies...that's just wrong in so many ways.

1) Cookie Monster is still Cookie Monster, and he still eats cookies, but not as much as before. He eats veggies and fruits as well to teach kids good eating habits, but I know he STILL EATS COOKIES.

2) The Elmo's World section on Seseme Street isn't usually 20 minutes long - its usually 10-15 minutes, and I've even seen 5 minute segments.

3) Although you said Toonami isn't airing anymore, it still is on Saturdays and online. But it isn't the same Toonami we know and love... all it ever shows is Naruto (not being a bad thing, but still)...

4) I agree JETIX is horrible, but in the wee hours of dawn, they show most of the classic Disney Afternoon shows. They mostly show Gargoyles, but they also show Darkwing Duck from time to time.

I think Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, are all fighting amongst themselves and not caring about the viewers. On the other hand, the New York-made CODENAME KIDS NEXT DOOR is the only thing good on Cartoon Network. EL TIGRE is the only good show on Nick. I hate Spongebob! And as for Toon Disney the only good shows are YIN YANG YO and SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO!

You forgot about MTV and Vh1. I rarely watched MTV, but when I had cable between 1991-1997, I would watch Vh1. In the mid-90's they would show music videos, now they show Behind the Music.

And as for the networks that you mentioned...

PBS-Yes, Sesame Street should be called "Elmo's World featuring the Sesame Street Gang". And I would like to see how groovy "The Electric Company" was and none of those bullshit shows like "Barney" or "Teletubbies". They don't even teach you anything!

Nickelodeon-All of their shows are owned by Viacom and no other show that isn't under Viacom isn't accepted. I would like to see "You can't do that on television" on DVD somehow. They should call it "The Spongebob Network" since that's the only thing they show.

Cartoon Network-They don't show Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry shows anymore. That's what made that station! They're not on Boomerang anymore either and the Hanna-Barbera library is shrinking. And as for obscure shows...that's where I got to like the mose neglected Hanna-Barbera character show ever...Loopy de Loop. (And obviously I watched it on Boomerang.)

Toon Disney-You should've mentioned The Disney Channel as well. I would watch Donlad Duck cartoons on there and they would play Disney movies prior to 1966 when Walt died. What do you see now? Nothing that should hold the Disney name.

good article! i agree with you on all these television shows, especially disney. disney is such an awful channel nowadays,what with hanna montana and jetix. no wonder disney dosent seem to be very popular anymore. all of thier shows arent worth viewing.

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